A/N: Wow, I can't believe I got this done! (Too exhausted to celebrate XD) It's been 'one of those days' and this is most defiantly the longest of the three. 'Tis the main bit, don't y'know. And thanks to Dragonlady222, as always, because I was pretty miserable when this got no reviews. And then I got one. And I was happy. So thanks, Dragonlady! Oh, yeah... Anzu'sFrench may be bad, but mine's worse. So please forgive any little oversights.

Phase Two: The Present

The offer had been upped again, and fresh notices were appearing through the letterbox everyday as the price climbed higher and higher. One or two houses were now ready to accept. Anzu just wondered why the company wanted this particular street quite so badly.

But she didn't have time to worry about that now. The exams were almost upon them.

"Quel temps fera…" She murmured, pacing back and forth across her room, sending the usually neat display of cushions scattering around like ripples in a pond. "Uh… Quel temps fait… No, Quel temps fera fait… ah…"

Anzu wasn't terribly good at French. How she wished she and Yugi had opted for English like the others…! She paused in her pacing for thought, looking at the small bracelet she was playing with in her fingers. It was large, pink, and rather tacky; a semi-circle on a bright, now fraying, piece of green chord, the word 'FRIEND' written on it. A gift from the boy next door. But today, it held no solution to her problem.

"Quel temps…" She began again. "Um… Quel temps fera-t-il demain...?" She grinned. That was it. "Quel temps fera-t-il demain!"

"Il fera chaud." Yugi replied from the doorway of her room, laughing. "Hey, Anzu. Your mom let me in…"

"Yugi!" She yelled, readying a cushion to toss at him. "If you've come here to tease my appalling French…"

"I come in peace!" Yugi insisted, holding up a book to protect himself. "Actually, I came over to see if you wanted to revise together. Uh, revise French, maybe."

Anzu threw the cushion at him.

"Okay, okay!" Yugi yelped as she picked up more ammunition from the floor of her room. "I'll just help! I'll be good, promise!"

Anzu laughed, rearranging the cushions into a pile, and pulling out two of the larger for Yugi and herself to sit on. Hey, she liked cushions. She plopped heavily down, and, needing no invitation, Yugi did the same- albeit not as harshly. He had broken several cushions like that already.

"We don't have to do French." Anzu said, almost hopefully. "After all, it's hardly like you need the practise!"

"Anzu," Yugi laughed. "The only other lessons we have together are Maths, Literature, and Science. And you hardly need practise at them!" He smiled. "I guessed what it was you may need help on."

She smiled back despite herself. "…Thanks, Yugi. You're a star, you know that?"

"Heh. So are you, Anzu." He reddened slightly, but Anzu didn't seem to notice as he spat out what he was thinking. "But you shine all the brighter."

"Sorry, what?" Anzu asked, having been lost in trying to remember whether 'toast' was masculine or feminine. "Hey, Yugi, how do you-"

She was interrupted by the phone ringing loudly. She cocked her head, trying to hear who her mom was talking to. But she needn't have bothered as her mother's head appeared around the door a second later, holding the telephone out to her with the air of grandeur Anzu had when she was dancing. "Phone for you, Anzu."

"Thanks." Anzu accepted the object in question, indicating to Yugi that it would only take a second. "Hello?"

"Anzu!" Ryou's distinctive accent came out. "You have to help me!" He paused. "Hello."

"Hi." Anzu couldn't help but laugh at the apologetic tone of the last word. "What's the matter, Ryou?"

"Revision." Ryou groaned.

"Tell me about it." Anzu sighed. "I'm trying to do French. 'Trying' being the key word. Luckily, Yugi just showed up to help!" She grinned at the boy in question.

"Ah…" Ryou replied, whimsically. "I never liked French either. C'est trés ennuyeux!"

"…Why can everyone speak French except me…?" Anzu groaned. Ryou, on the other end of the line, and Yugi, in the room, both laughed.

"I can't really." Ryou promised. "I only ever learnt that one phrase. I believe it means 'It is extremely boring'. But I may well be wrong. As I said, I didn't like French."

"Ha. Didn't you say you had a problem…?" Anzu wondered. Ryou sighed.

"I was hoping to draw it out so I didn't have to do so much studying…" He admitted. Anzu couldn't help but laugh. Ryou was no slacker, but there had been a time when he would never do anything else when he was struggling with it. He would never have asked for help. He had changed a little over time, to. She supposed having decent friends at last must have a real effect on him, to. He was a lot more confident with them now. Not with people he didn't know, but it was a start. And there was only one subject that he would need Anzu's help in- Music.

"Music." Ryou said, as though hearing her thoughts. It was one of the few classes they shared. Here they were pole opposites. Ryou played his instrument- surprisingly enough, a guitar- very well, but could not get his head around the theory stuff. Anzu, meanwhile, found the theory far easier then the practical- she and her flute had a bit of a love/hate relationship. She should probably practise more. That was the love part. Her flute had currently rolled under the bed, from where it quite possibly wouldn't return. That was the hate part.

"…Anything in particular?" Anzu asked. "Or just 'Music' en general?"

"That was French!" Yugi cried. "Go Anzu!"

"Plainchant." Ryou moaned. "The Monk Music."

"I thought you said in the lesson that it was the easiest bit so far?" Anzu teased, thinking back to the lesson which was a good while back now. "I thought you got it?"

"I did." Ryou maintained. "But now I don't. I can't read my notes…" He mourned.

"Sorry, I can't help there." Anzu joked. "I can't read your writing either."

"Well, I only have one thing to say to that." Ryou sniffed. "Je peux parle francais! Ha!"

"Ryou…" Anzu moaned. "You said you couldn't speak French!"

"I lied." Ryou replied, calmly. "And so did you. You understood me perfectly!"

"…I did?" Anzu asked, confused.

"Yes. Now, please…" Ryou begged. "Just tell me what 'a cappella' means…"

"Unaccompanied. No instruments, just voices."

She heard him scratching it down in his rough handwriting.

"And…" She could practically hear him squinting at his notes. "Antiphony? I think?"

"In Plainchant? When the song was passed between two choirs at opposite ends of the Church."

Ryou did not reply, although she was fairly sure she faintly heard him mutter 'Oh! It says Church…" "Right," He said, returning to the phone. "I better go and try to translate the rest of this."

"Go on then." Anzu said, tolerantly, no more eager to get back to the language of doom. "Good luck, and goodbye!"

"Au revoir!" He said, teasingly.

"Ryou…" She growled, threateningly, but he had already hung up.

"Right then." Yugi smiled, waving a revision guide at her. "You may be able to speak Music, but not French. Shall we?"

"Oui." Anzu sighed, miserably.

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"That's it!" Yugi said, encouragingly. "Bon travail, Anzu!"

"…That means 'Good work', right?" Anzu checked.

"Mais oui!" Yugi smiled, enjoying teasing her.

Anzu paused, trying to work the phrase out, but it was useless. "Okay, I'm lost." She admitted, flopping her head down onto the floor. "What's the French for 'I'm going to fail'…?"

The response came in the form of a loud curse from her Father's mouth as he got in from work.

"I'm guessing that's not it…" Anzu commented, as the two headed to the top of the stairs to see what all the commotion was.

"That retired couple!" He was saying to her alarmed mother. "They sold out. And so have the houses on either side! The moving trucks have come! The company has that entire corner of the road!"

"Sh-" Anzu began, only to have her mother shout over her.

"Anzu Mazaki!" She yelled. "You watch your language! You to!" She said to her husband. "I will not have language like that in the house!"

"Fine!" Anzu yelled back. "Yugi, what's the worst French swear word you know?"

"Um…" Yugi stated, completely unsure of what to do.

"Anzu…" Her mother said, warningly. "Both of you need to calm down. It's not the end of the world." She scooped up the latest offer, the price now so large that it was surprising it all fit on one piece of paper, and screwed it up. "It doesn't matter how many people sell. They can buy up the rest of the street, and we still won't sell. They can build their factory around us, for all I care."

"Speak of the Devil," Yugi put in, suddenly, pointing out of the window where the blue unmarked car was driving up the road again. "Here they are. Passing out more bulletins, from the look of things."

"They can give us all the bulletins they like." Anzu said, sulkily. "I'd like to give them a piece of my mind!"

"Then let's go." Anzu's mom shrugged. "Why not? It'll be fun. A structured family outing. You're welcome to join us, Yugi."

"…Okay…" He accepted, still uncertain. A 'Family Outing' with the Mazakis might be quite different to what he was used to.

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Back in the safety of Anzu's room, the two laughed freely, completely unable to stop until tears soaked their faces either from the laughter itself or quite possibly the pain it was causing in their stomachs.

"That…" Yugi gasped, trying not to burst into more gales of laughter. "Was fantastic."

"It was kinda fun." Anzu agreed. "It sure beat French!" She added, cheerily.

"You were awesome, Anzu!" Yugi complimented. "I loved the whole thing with the collecting everyone's notices and chasing the poor guy down the road…"

"Mister! You dropped your paper! Oh, and this one! And this one!" Anzu imitated her earlier statements, laughing again. "And then when Eria and the others came out to help…"

"Hmm…" Yugi commented. "I never thought you could get so many curses into 'We refuse to sell'."

"No." Anzu agreed. "That takes talent."

"I'm surprised your mom didn't have a heart attack…"

"Are you serious! She was with them!" Anzu rolled across the floor, off her back and onto the side. "Still. I thought you did pretty well."

"I didn't do anything." Yugi told her. "You and your family were the stars. Hey, how about when your dad-"

"Don't change the subject." Anzu said, sternly. "Yugi, you ran up and down the street, banging on doors for me. You got the entire street outside. And you got them all chanting that they wouldn't sell. For heavens sake, a camera crew showed up!" She sighed happily. "We're gonna be on the local news. Now they can't buy us, surely!" She smiled broadly at him. "Yugi… Thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied. "It was fun. We should do it again."

"Yeah, when they come round tomorrow." Anzu agreed. "If they aren't too scared of 'The Mad Mazakis'!"

At this point, Anzu's mom put her head around the door again.

"Yugi," She said, calmly. "Your grandfather just phoned. He'd like to know what you're doing in the background of a local news report rather then at home, cooking dinner like you promised."

"Oh!" Yugi cried. "…Oops."

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Anzu burrowed down further under the covers, relieved to be in bed at last. It had been a fun, but tiring, day. First school, and then dance, and then revising with Yugi, and then scaring the people trying to buy their street, and then fielding the dozens of phone calls from various friends who wanted to know what she had been doing on the television chasing some poor man down the road screaming something about notices as Yugi stood to one side chanting with most of the residents, chanting that they wouldn't sell, and Anzu's parents with a bunch of students shouted abuse the television had to censor. Sleep would be welcome now.

Unfortunately, sleep was not so willing to come. Despite the fact that she was so mentally and physically exhausted, her mind was still doing somersaults around the events of the day. She had to get them out of her mind. And so, she allowed herself to fall back into the most familiar of daydreams. But even that was tainted by the happenings of this long day.

She was home alone, and the doorbell had rung. Slowly, in a dream-like way, she went downstairs, pausing only to rub a speck of dirt off the banister. The bell rang again, more urgently now.

"I'm coming…" Anzu sighed. "Give me chance, I can't-" She opened the door, and the words became motionless on her lips.

"Anzu…" He said. "I saw you on the news… I'm so glad you still live here…" His eyes, deep and all-consuming, met hers. "Don't you remember me, Anzu? I know it's been a long time, but I…" He stopped, holding up his half of the best friends bracelet, kept in his pocket just as hers was. Hers was in her hand now as she brought it up to complete the circle. He smiled, and Anzu smiled to.

"…It's been a long time." She said, at last.

"I know." He sighed. "I… I'm sorry I'm late, Anzu."

"I'm just glad you're here now." Anzu replied, being swept up into a hug in his strong arms, a scent hanging just beneath her sense of smell.

"But you know what they say…" He said, shyly. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. We were just kids before. But now, we…"

"Promise you won't leave again…" Anzu murmured. "I've thought about you so much…"

"I won't leave again. Ever. I promise." He replied.

"You keep that promise." Anzu said, fiercely.

"Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled. "After all, I kept this one. Even after almost twelve years…"

"Twelve years when the leaves fall off the trees." Anzu added, as the real Anzu rolled over, sighing slightly, and settled down into sleep. The rest of the fantasy fell under the distorting veil of dreams. She still hadn't clearly seen what he looked like, or what he sounded like. When she woke up, she was left only with vague memories of being asked what the French word for 'a cappella' was, chasing a man down the road, and the feeling that nothing would ever go wrong again. She should enjoy the feeling while it lasted.

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"Yugi, is something wrong?" Anzu asked, concerned. Yugi, even though he knew Anzu had dance lessons that night, had come back to her house under the pretence of helping her with French again, but had seemed very distracted. Then, when she had said she had to leave to walk down to the dance studio, he had quietly offered to walk her down. She had known him a long time, and could see that he was not his usual self. She had been expecting him to come right out with it, but this time he didn't, and so she had patiently waited for him to spit it out. They were so close… they usually told each other everything without hesitation. This had to be really bad. She had been planning on just chatting with him normally until he worked himself up to it, but now they were only moments away from her dance studio and he still hadn't told her. As they reached the steps up to the door, she had known that she couldn't go in without finding out what was worrying him. They stood off to one side, slightly apart from the other students, but in her concern, she only had eyes for him. "No, I know something's wrong. What is it?"

"Anzu, I…" Yugi looked away. "I'm scared." He answered, eventually.

"Yugi…" She whispered. Goodness knows after all the physcos he'd been up against, he would have some nightmares. "It's okay, it's alright, it's fine. I mean, we've been through so much in the past… We've all been scared to death. But you don't need to be. 'Cause, you know, you've managed to be so brave and defeat them all. And you'll always have us. So even though you're scared, just know we-"

"Anzu." He said again, stopping her in mid-friendship flow. "It's not them I'm scared of. It's you."

"Me?" She echoed in surprise. "But… why?"

"Oh, you're much scarier then anyone we've ever fought." Yugi smiled awkwardly. "Because in a minute, I'm finally going to work up the courage to admit that I… admit how I feel, and I'm going to ask you out. And I am absolutely terrified that you'll say no."

Anzu stared at him in shock. Oh, my life…She thought, numbly. They were right, he did ask me. He really did… Apart from that, she just felt relieved that no-one was in any serious danger.

She realised how long she had been gawping in surprise, and that she had to say something. She still didn't know what. She was still too numb to know how she felt. "Yugi, I…"

"Anzu!" One of the dance students called, loudly, running over her words. "Come on, or we'll be late! And we're having the guest in today! I heard he is hot!" She continued running up the steps. "Anzu, move it!" She screamed again, but the girl barely even spared her glance. She ran back down the steps and began dragging the hapless Anzu up into the studio. Yugi laughed slightly and waved, walking away. And even though she hadn't had chance to answer, he felt he knew what she would have said.

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"One, two, three…" Ryou said to himself, because there was no-one else there to hear. "One, two, three…" He waved the pen in front of him, conducting in the way he'd been shown a good few years ago now. "Galliard. One, two, three. Right. Pavane…" He glanced down at his notes. "Five beats to a bar. Okay." He readied the pen he was attempting to conduct his invisible orchestra with. "One, two, three, four, five…" He frowned at his notes again. "Now, that doesn't seem right…" He commented to the potted plant in the corner. "Perhaps it's a four. What do you think?" He turned the large folder around so the plant could see. Unsurprisingly, he got no response. Thankfully, it was at that point, the buzzer on the door rang, barely audible over the radio in the corner. "The door! Hallelujah!" Ryou declared, climbing up to answer it. "Anzu!"

"Ryou! Hope you're not still sore, although that fall down the stairs was hilarious! I was on my way back from Dance, but I figured I'd come help you out with music…" She explained, stepping in and putting down her bag with her dance stuff in before pulling out her own bulky music folder. "I assume you're studying hard for the music test next week?" She asked, in mock sternness. Ryou nodded and began to lead her into the living room. "By the way… It still hasn't rained."

"There's another week to go yet." Ryou said confidently as he pushed the lounge door open. "Give it time." Anzu entered to see that Ryou also revised on the floor, judging by the huge number of sheets and scraps of paper spewing out of the luminous green music folder. She could even see the gap just beside a potted plant where he had presumably been lying on his stomach. Ryou hastily began to pile things up, making space for her sit down on the floor with him. The song on the radio, something by the Dire Straits, played itself out and the announcer came back on with none of the usual gibbering these stations had between tracks.

"That was the Ultimate Air Guitar Anthems." He said. "If you missed it, well, where have you been! But fear not, because we have a great selection coming up- This is the best in Love Songs for all you couples and you lonely hearts out there. Let's start as we mean to go on- it's Bryan Adams, 'Everything I do, I do it for you'."

"I love this song." Anzu said, sitting down on the now-available floor space.

"I probably shouldn't admit it, but so do I." Ryou agreed, picking up his folder. "Now, tell me, is this a four or a five?"

"Personally…" Anzu replied, staring at where he was pointing, "I think it looks like a car crashed into a lamppost. Wow, they should use your writing instead of an inkblot test, Ryou."

"Oh, do be quiet." He replied, not sounding particularly annoyed. "No, on the second thought, tell me how many beats in a bar a Pavane has."

"Four." Anzu said, flipping her own folder open to the Dance music section.

The time passed slowly, in companionable silence. Ryou did not feel the need to be talking all the time, and, in comparison to the noise of school and the dance studio, that was just fine with Anzu. The silence was occasionally broken by Ryou asking about something or her opinion on what something said, but mostly the only sounds came from the ticking of the clock, the music on the radio, and Ryou himself, who, despite his shyness, had never seemed to be capable of sitting still. He was constantly fidgeting around, wiggling his shoeless feet, or strumming his fingers on the floor, playing with his hair or a pen, and, when he quite simply began rolling around slightly, rocking from one side to the other, Anzu couldn't help but say something.

"Ryou. Can't you sit still for five minutes?" She asked, in mock irritation, as the final verse of 'When September Ends' played out into the room. She had found out by now, of course, that he never did. Perhaps it was just a nervous twitch.

"Sorry." He replied, sheepishly, now having flipped over and was lying on his back, his bangs falling away and showing his full face for once. He looked strange, upside down like that. "I've always been like this."

"You never seemed the hyper sort." Anzu replied, unable to stop her mouth from creeping a little higher up her face.

"I'm not." Ryou informed her, rolling back over again and resting his head on his arms. "It's just when I'm bored. I was chronically shy when I was little and-"

"Like you're not now…"

"And," He continued, forcefully. "I was forced to participate in all sorts of special learning activities to 'build my confidence'. But they were all doing activities, there was very little reading or writing. It's had quite an effect on my development." He sighed seriously, although the way he was aimlessly kicking his legs in the air seemingly without noticing ruined the effect slightly. "As you can see, I can't sit still. And I'm a kinetic learner." He added as an afterthought. "So I need movement to revise, see?"

"I'll bet." Anzu replied. They had all taken the 'Learning Type' test in form time. She herself had been a visual learner. But Ryou…

"Well, then." She said, as some advert for the station played. "I better help you learn how to…" She looked at his folder to see what he was reading. "To waltz."

"What?" Ryou paled slightly, sitting up. Anzu, meanwhile, leapt to her feet.

"Yeah, come on, Mr Kinetic Learner, this'll be good revision for you!"

"…I think I'll just read it!" Ryou insisted. "It'll be fine, Anzu, really."

But he should have known Anzu would not take no for an answer. As the next song started- Darius, 'I'm Not Buying'. It wasn't a very good song, really, and the station should have known better then to play it- he found himself, quite unwittingly, ready to waltz with a girl around his living room, who seemed oblivious to his embarrassment. Darius, to, seemed uncaring about how uncomfortable a situation his song had put Ryou in.

"So many times we find ourselves, we're looking just about anywhere but in each others eyes- I'm wondering why…So many chances brushed and wasted, so many matches almost won, at injury time, nobody cried…" He sung, sounding incredibly insincere to the he who was trying not to think about what he was doing. It seemed to be working. He had two left feet even more so then usual…

"Normally a waltz would only have 3 beats, but we'll just have to pretend." She instructed, knowing the song had four in a bar. "Now, start with your left… right… together…And I'll do the opposite, see? No, Ryou, now your right. Right, Ryou!"

"Sorry."

"Well, we can reach! And we can climb!" Darius interrupted, annoyed at being ignored as the two moved slowly in circles around the room, trying to avoid sofas and sheets alike, but, as they concentrated on the movement, ignoring both. "And we can hold on by our feelings to what is right… I'm holding out for you, reaching out for you…"

"That's it…" Anzu whispered, from her position next to his ear, his skin tickling under his breath. "Now you're getting the hang of it." She laughed. "Well, don't worry. You're certainly more graceful then Yugi and Jou were when I tried to teach them…"

"Ah, good…" Ryou replied, slightly distracted. He had personal space issues, and here was Anzu with her head pressed up against the soft cushion of his hair, just the right height to reach his shoulder, her head the right size to apparently rest there comfortably…

"Do you want me to stop?" Anzu asked, pulling away just enough to see how awkward he was with the entire affair.

Ryou wanted to say no. He nodded, and Anzu let go, sitting back down and picking up her folder.

"Thank you." Ryou said, a little uncertainly, sitting back down to and trying to get his thoughts back on his notes.

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"Is Anzu even home?" Shizuka asked uncertainly, trailing behind Mai up the road, scurrying slightly closer as a man across the road shot them a suspicious look. Did they really look so threatening…?

"Nope." Mai replied, easily. "She's got dance, and then I think she's planning on going over to Ryou's. So we've got ages."

"Are you sure we should do this when she's not home?" Shizuka asked, worriedly. She still wasn't certain about doing this. After all, if Anzu wanted to chase after her so-called 'Childhood sweetheart', surely she would have done so by now. And as for Mai's plan, of if they couldn't find him, making it up… Well, that just seemed so wrong… "Don't you think if we're going to do this, Anzu would want to know?"

"Probably." Mai shrugged. "Now, let's see if anyone's home." She strode up Anzu's front path and rang the bell before Shizuka had time to argue. It was Anzu's mom, still in her work clothes, who came to the door, smiling when she saw them.

"Oh, hello girls." She said, calm as ever. "I'm afraid Anzu's not home at the moment. Perhaps I could tell her to phone when she gets back?"

"Actually," Mai smiled. "It's you we wanted to talk to. We were just wondering if you could help us with something."

"Well, I'll certainly try…" She answered uncertainly, stepping aside to let them in. "What was it you needed?"

"Oh, we were just wondering if you could remember the name of the family who used to live next door."

Anzu's mom looked blank. "Huh?" She lead them into the sunny blue kitchen, where a radio station was playing the week's number one. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, bouncing off every reflective surface and making them look as though they were glowing white-hot. It flooded over the surfaces, running over onto the floor and filling that to, warm as a hot spring. It felt delicious. But they could not get distracted from the task at hand. They were offered a drink, but both declined.

"We really just want to know the name of the family, we're kinda in a hurry." Mai explained, apologetically. Shizuka had decided to leave the talking to her. "You know. The one that lived next door when Anzu was little. She was friends with the boy…"

"Ah, yes." Her face cleared as she bounced her head slightly in time with the music, not at all uncomfortable. "But… Oh, goodness, what was their name now…? I was never really that friendly with them, it was just Anzu and their son…" She laughed brightly, and Shizuka noticed that she really was a lot like Anzu. The laugh, the openness, it was all the same. "Dear me, you'd think I'd recall the boy's name, the amount of times I had to listen to Anzu rabbit on about him! Doesn't she remember?"

Shizuka shook her head, finally speaking. "No. That's why we came to ask you. We're just curious as to who he was."

"Well…" She sighed. "I think the family's name began with a 'B'… That's not much help, I know, but I seem to remember calling the woman 'Mrs B' before she died."

"She died?" Mai asked. Anzu hadn't mentioned that… Maybe she couldn't remember. 'He had to move. I don't know why, he just had to go. We cried a lot, and I remember my mom saying he was moving far away…'. That's what Anzu had said, wasn't it? "Is that why they moved away?"

"It might have been." She shrugged. "Grief does funny things to people. He was always a quiet man, and then when his wife died, he was almost completely reclusive… As I said, we didn't know them very well. We didn't even go to the funeral. For heaven's sake, if I can remember all this, why can't I remember his name! I'm sorry, girls… It's just been a long time."

"It's okay." Mai said, looking pensive. "Anything else?"

"Hmm…" She frowned. "No. They were a fairly ordinary family. Two parents, two kids… Nothing else springs to mind."
"Oh, well, thanks." Mai shrugged, but made no move to leave. Only the man on the radio seemed to have anything to say.

"…and if you can tell me what song this lyric is from, you'll be off for a three-night trip in a health spa, all expenses paid, in the beautiful Kyoto district!" He was saying, enthusiastically. "So, remember, if you think you know the song all you have to do is call! And here's our mystery lyric for today…" He paused slightly, before saying: "'Fly away, swim the ocean blue, drive that open road, leave the past behind you'. That's 'Fly away, swim the ocean blue, drive that open road, leave the past behind you'. If you think you know the answer, all you have to do is call…" He began rattling off a series of numbers.

Anzu's mom snorted. "Like anyone's gonna know it." She said. "They deliberately choose little-known songs. Like that one. I mean, who listening to this radio will have ever even heard of it?"

Shizuka blinked. "Then you know what it is?"

"Of course, because I'm part of the minority who will. But what I mean is the audience of this station is hardly likely to-"

"Phone in!" Mai cried. "You could win the holiday!"

Anzu's mom laughed. "Oh, Mai, an old fool like me wouldn't be given it. It's designed for younger people."

But Mai had already dialled the number for her, and, as they left, she was waiting, looking bewildered, to go on air. For some reason, she was tidying her hair. They left her in peace, going outside and stopping on the street corner to gather their thoughts.

"Right." Mai said, picking dirt out from under her nails. "What have we got?"

"Um…" Shizuka considered. "Someone with only one parent, their dad; and a younger sibling, and a family name that possibly begins with a 'B'."

Mai clicked her fingers. "Ah. We should have asked if it was a brother or a sister! Oh well…" She smirked. "And we know from Anzu that when they moved it was 'far away'. So. Who do we know who fits all the criteria…?"

Shizuka blinked again. The way the question was said made it sound as if Mai had worked out who it was, just from that little bit of information. "We know someone?" She asked.

Mai nodded, leaning in. "Oh, come on, Shizuka… Figure it out…" She knocked on the top of her head. "Come on! Anyone in there? Who do we know with a 'B' surname?"

"Ryou!" Shizuka gasped, cottoning on. "But… what about the rest of it?"

"He moved 'far away'." Mai pointed out, looking very pleased with herself. "As in, England far away! But as for the dad and younger sibling thing… Well, you tell me. I've hardly spoken to the boy."

"Well…" Shizuka considered, trying to remember if she'd ever been told. "He's never mentioned his mom… I have heard him say something about his dad, though."

"And?" Mai asked, quietly, excitedly. "Does he have a brother or sister?"

"He…" Shizuka smiled. "I think he has a sister. Oh, Mai, do you really think it could be him?" She gasped. "I mean, he's been under Anzu's nose for a good while now… Wouldn't one of them have…?"

"She doesn't remember his name." Mai pointed out. "And you know what that boy's like! He wouldn't have mentioned any childhood friend to Anzu any more then she would have mentioned it to him! So there's a good chance- he fits perfectly!"

But Mai was wrong. Because Anzu was mentioning it to Ryou, at that precise moment, as it happened.

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Neither had said a word since they had finished dancing, and neither had turned a page in their notes even as they stared so intently at them. Something had passed between them and both found it terribly distracting, though they could not say what it was.

Anzu peeped at Ryou over the top of her folder. He was rocking back and forth slightly in time with the song that was playing. He was still slightly red, and was still avoiding looking at her. She must have made him really uncomfortable. She had just been trying not to think about what answer she would give Yugi. In dance, she could loose all sense of self, forget all her worries and cares. After she had finished, the protective film had fallen away, and she'd run here, to seek sanctuary at Ryou's- hoping that if she ran fast enough she could run away from having to make a decision. But they had caught up with her, and she wanted to dance again, dragging poor old Ryou into it. He wasn't that confident, even with her, yet. She didn't even know why she hadn't just agreed with Yugi straight away. She had been ready to say yes, but something had stopped her; something that she hadn't seen for twelve years and couldn't remember the name of. It was so stupid. She was treating Yugi like this, and…

"Anzu, isn't that your mom?" Ryou asked suddenly, glad for the chance to break the awkward silence.

"Huh?" Anzu asked, still caught up in her predicament.

"On the radio. Listen." He said.

"So, do you have an answer for us?" The presenter was asking.

"I… think so." The caller said, slowly. Anzu started to pay full attention.

"It is my mom!" She yelped. "What's she doing on the radio!"

"Naming a lyric, I think." Ryou replied, cocking his head slightly to listen.

"Is it 'Reach', by S-Club 7?" She asked.

There was a dramatic pause.

"It is indeed!" The presenter said. "You and one other person are going to a Health Spa in Kyoto! How does that sound?"

"…Wonderful! Thank you!"

"Well, you just hold onto the phone and someone will come straighten out the details, but, for the rest of you, here's 'Reach'…"

"I don't believe it…" Anzu muttered. It seemed strange that her own mother could be concentrating on a radio call-in instead of on her when her best friend had just asked her out and she didn't know what to do. Of course, her mother had no way of knowing the afternoon's events, but now she had some Health Spa trip to look forward to, and all Anzu had was exams, giving Yugi an answer, and someone trying to buy her house… She looked to the window. It was bright and sunny as always, with a small gathering of fluffy white clouds. By rights, it should have been raining. The weather was so uncaring… But if it wasn't raining, then why was her face wet…?

"Anzu…?" Ryou said, uncertainly. She turned, and he could see that he was right, she was crying. If possible, he felt even more awkward then before. "Hey…" He said, quietly. "What's up? Your mom just won. You should be happy, right?"

"I know." Anzu muttered, wiping her face on her jacket sleeve. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright." Ryou promised, appearing next to her with a box of disposable tissues. "But… if you don't mind my asking, whatever's the matter? Have I-"

"Oh, Ryou, of course you haven't." Anzu sighed, wiping her face. "But it's nothing." She lent back onto the sofa behind her, and Ryou did the same, for once not fiddling with anything. His focus was on her. He didn't say anything. It obviously wasn't nothing. So he waited for her. "Well, it's not nothing… But it's so silly. That's what makes it worse. I'm in a silly mess and it's even stupider that I don't know what to do to sort it out."

"Oh, then perhaps I could help." Ryou told her. "I'm forever in a mess. I seem to get out of one, and then fall slap-bang into another one." Anzu giggled slightly, her short crying spurt wearing itself out. "And I'm fairly certain you won't be the silly one. It's probably just the world that's being silly, and we're unfortunate enough to be caught up in it."

"That's true." Anzu sniffed. "But I think it might be me this time…" She swallowed hard. "Yugi asked me out. You know. As not-a-friend."

Ryou studied her for a moment, but she just rested her head on her knees and offered no more elaboration. Apparently Anzu was the sort who needed questions to be asked so she could sort her own erratic thoughts out.

"I'm sorry," He began. "But I'm afraid I haven't had an awful amount of experience. Is that a bad thing?"

"No. Yes." Anzu answered. "Now I have to figure out how I feel about him. And I've never known. Ever. And now I have to give him an answer."

"I'm guessing you don't know what to say?"

"No." Anzu admitted. "I mean, I can't see any reason why I shouldn't say yes. He's sweet and loyal and brave, and kind, and I've known him forever. He would do anything for anyone, he's always smiling… and, well, I've always loved him to bits. So there's no reason not to say yes."

"Anzu…" Ryou said, slowly. "As I said, I don't know a terrible amount about this kind of thing, but don't you think that if you're looking for a reason to say no, you… well, should?"

"But I do know why I want to say no!" Anzu told him suddenly. "And it's stupid! And I shouldn't let it hold me back. But…" Slowly, she spilled the entire story, and Ryou sat quietly and listened, making no comment or judgement. She appreciated that so much, but by the end she was desperate for him to just tell her what to do. "Twelve years is too long, right? So I should just give up on him…"

Ryou shook his head, slowly. "I don't know, Anzu. But I do think that we're dealing with two separate situations."

She blinked. "What? But, Ryou, the reason I'm not sure about Yugi is-"

"Yes, but… Anzu, if you felt that strongly for him, I doubt it would matter." Ryou said, awkwardly. He wasn't in good in conversation at the best of times, especially at times like this. But he really did just want to help Anzu. "But I don't know. Maybe you do like him as… What was it you said? 'Not-a-Friend', and maybe you don't. Either way, I don't think it would be very fair to act on that if you weren't completely certain."

"No, I guess it wouldn't…" Anzu said, slowly, tilting her head back so it was on the seat of the sofa. She would've been looking at the ceiling, had her eyes not been closed. She still had to talk to Yugi. But at least now she knew what she was going to say. That was three-quarters of the race done. "Thanks, Ryou." She muttered. She opened one eye to look at him. "At least you're better at giving advice then you are at the waltz."

He sniffed indignantly. "And at least you're better at the waltz then you are at French." He shot back.

"Say…" Anzu said, sitting up and facing him fully. "I don't suppose you would talk to Yugi for me, would you?"

"No, I will not."

"Could I convince you?"

"You haven't a hope in Hell."

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By the time Anzu had made it home, feeling a little happier, her dad was back from work as well as her mom, and they were just about to put dinner out. Anzu dumped her stuff, changed out of her uniform, and began to lay the table.

"Anzu!" Her mother said, having got all the necessary pleasantries out of the way when Anzu had first come through the door. "Guess what I did today…"

"Um…" Anzu pretended to ponder. "The laundry? Went to work? Painted the door to my room so I got paint all over my hand when I touched the handle? Saved the world from disaster? Won a radio phone-in for a three-night trip for two for a health spa in Kyoto?"

Her mom blinked for a second, then laughed. "Well, yes, actually. All those things. Except saving the world. How did you know?" She pouted. "I was looking forward to a dramatic revelation."

"We heard you on the radio." Anzu said, sitting down as her dad brought the food in. "So. I assume you and dad are abandoning me for Kyoto?"

"Actually, Anzu," Her mom smiled. "I did wonder if you would like to come with me. A mom-and-daughter thing, you know? It's far posher then we could afford normally."

Anzu gawped at her. It seemed the day was finally looking up…

"Unfortunately," Her father continued, "She was then told that she has to leave tomorrow and remembered that not only do you have school, your exams are coming up. So she's dragging me along instead."

"Oh…" Anzu sighed, mindlessly eating. It would have been nice to have been able to just skip out the next day.

"So, Anzu." Her mom said, trying to break the ensuing silence. "What have you been up to today?"

"Not much."

"Oh, but you usually have so many stories about your friends! Isn't there even, oh, I don't know, even some tale of woe about Jonouchi's stupidity?"

"Not really…"

"Oh, come on Anz…" Her father wheedled. "Give us a run down of the day…"

"Alright." Anzu smiled slightly. "Well, I got up, practised a little for dance, went to school, got two As on my reports, heard a lot about the exams, watched Jou choke on a ping-pong ball, a paper clip, and a chip- but not at once- tried to speak French, tried not to laugh when Ryou fell down the stairs outside drama, argued with Kaiba when he laughed at Ryou falling down the stairs outside drama, came here, revised French with Yugi, went to dance, got asked out by Yugi, was complimented on my dancing by a hot guy who had come in to do a demonstration but was too distracted to notice, went over to Ryou's, revised music, waltzed around his living room, heard you on the radio, had an emotional crisis, got it more or less sorted, and came home."

"…I thought you said nothing had happened." Her mom commented, dryly, before moving on to quiz her daughter on each individual event. As it was, she completely forgot to tell Anzu that two of her friends had nipped in asking questions about someone she used to know.

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"There she goes…" Shizuka muttered to her companion as Anzu emerged from the block of flats Ryou lived in and began to walk away.

"And here we go!" Mai added, cheerily, dragging her into the building Anzu had just left, and up a flight or two or stairs to Ryou's flat. How she knew where he lived when she hardly knew him was quite beyond Shizuka. But, then again, she wouldn't put anything past the blond as she banged down Ryou's buzzer. He opened the door a moment later, probably thinking Anzu had forgotten something and come back for it.

"Oh, hello!" He said, smiling in surprise. "If you're looking for Anzu, I'm afraid you've just missed her…"

"No, we were looking for you." Mai said, happily, pushing her way in. Shizuka followed a little more apologetically, and Ryou closed the door behind them.

"Me? Why?"

"Because," Mai answered with a huge grin. "We have something important to tell you!"

Ryou looked vaguely confused, but just said, politely "Well, then I suppose you should tell me."

"The girl you used to live next door to…" Mai said, with a relish. "Was Anzu!"

Ryou merely blinked. "…What…?"

This was not the reaction Mai had been expecting, but she forged on anyway.

"Come on, Ryou!" She yelled. "When you were really little! You lived next door to her and were really good friends- you gave her one of those little bracelet thingies and there was a gate between your gardens, and all you have to do is tell Anzu and you can be a crazy fairy-tale type couple and live happily ever after! Okay?"

Ryou's expression cleared slightly. After all, he'd been told about this only slightly earlier that afternoon. What he did not know was why Mai suddenly thought it was him. "Mai, I never lived next door to Anzu." He stated calmly. "I was born in England, not here. In fact, I didn't live next door to anyone in the early parts of my life. I lived down on the coast." He paused, but Mai said nothing, and neither did Shizuka, they just looked at each other with a mixed expression. "I can assure you, whoever this 'mystery' person of Anzu's is, it's not me."

"But…" Mai began. "Well…Are you sure?"

"I know where Anzu lives, Mai." Ryou replied gently. "Surely, if I was him, I would have mentioned it by now."

Shizuka smirked. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." She said to Mai.

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It was the day before the exams started. It was also the day before Anzu's parents got back from their trip. So, really, it was a toss-up between some serious revision and some serious cleaning of the house. Anzu's parents didn't really mind mess- they thought it made a house 'cosy'- so when Anzu wanted a serious spring clean, she needed to do it when they were out of the way. Like now.

Besides, if she read through one more French sheet, she would scream. And she would do so in Japanese. Not French.

And so, all that day, as the sky outside went from a deep blue to a murky grey, the spattering of clouds banding together and drying out the ocean blue, Anzu polished and vacuumed and swept and mopped and wiped and scraped and everything else she could think of. By mid-afternoon, she was ready to call it quits. At this point she smelt like at least a dozen different cleaning products, her hair was falling out of the band that she'd used to tie it out of her way, and her clothes were covered in grime. She wrinkled her nose when she caught sight of herself in a mega-polished surface. It wrinkled more as she caught a whiff of herself. Cleaning was hard work, but rewarding. At least now the house was gleaming- even if she herself was not. There was just one thing that needed to be done, and that would only take a second. She strode purposefully into the kitchen and began wrestling the bin liner out of the bin, trying not to spill any of the rubbish contained therein. Finally, she managed to shake it out, tying the top into a deft knot. The bin men weren't due to come round for another day or to yet, though; so she'd just have to dump it into the trailer.

Brought at the height of the Mazaki's love of camping, the trailer was not much more then a large wooden box on wheels, with a now-ripping tarpaulin stretched over the top, secured with elastic. It sat on a slightly raised platform on the front garden, meaning the lawn was slightly smaller then average and also that the trailer was almost as big as Anzu herself was. She put the bag down on the front step and began the usual battle with the age-old elastic chords. As she struggled, she was facing the house next door, and she froze.

There was someone standing in front of the house, his house. And he was no University student.

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A/N: Mwhahaha. What can I say? Dun dun dunnnnn!

Now then, now then, then, then, then, now, now then! I am going on a long hike type walk thing tomorrow to Wednesday in the Cotsworlds. Now, while I did my UTMOST to have the last little phase done for tomorrow to ask someone to upload, my backpack did not co-operate. (pout) I seriously doubt I'll be able to get it done tonight. So it shall probably be Thursday or Friday. Mwhahaha again.

Duke of Edinburgh Award. Someone tell me why I signed up for this…